Find the Cure: Five Bike-Skill Fixes

Bicycling Pack-Riding Anxiety Disorder

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Symptoms: Your arms and shoulders lock up and your wheel gets squirrelly any time a fellow rider comes within an arm’s length. This condition, also known as pelotonaphobia, often results in nervous looks from fellow cyclists during group rides and frequently causes ungainly gaps to open.

Rx: First, lay off the espresso. Second, relax your arms, pedal smoothly, and focus on a spot over the shoulder of the rider in front of you (not on his rear tire). Once you’re on his wheel, don’t let your front wheel overlap it. Remember to breathe. Try not to brake (it affects every-one behind you), but if you must, do so gently—or just sit up a bit higher instead. Try riding with three friends in various formations first.